Subdivisional ischemic injury of the unilateral striatum causes apomorphine-induced rotational behavior in rats.

Behavioral and histological studies were performed on a reversible ischemia model in rats. At 60 days after unilateral transient middle cerebral artery occlusion for 30 min, the operated rats exhibited the ipsiversive rotational behavior elicited by systemic administration of dopamine receptor agonist apomorphine in a dose-dependent manner. Histologically, the ipsilateral striatum of the rats showed a subdivisional ischemic injury, while the nigral dopaminergic neurons appeared intact. The striatal lesions having a cell type-specific injury were located in the dorsolateral portion of the rostral striatum and in the lateral portion of the caudal part of the nucleus. Thus, the transient cerebral ischemia could successfully produce selective damage of a striatal subdivision, which causes an abnormality in motor controls in response to dopamine receptor stimulation. The present data may provide a part of functional and anatomical basis for understanding the movement disorders associated with basal ganglia dysfunction (e.g., parkinsonism), which may occur in patients with cerebrovascular disorders.